Shishuo xinyu 世說新語

Shishuo xinyu 世說新語 "New account of tales of the world", shortly called Shishuo 世說, is a collection of dialogues and stories circulating around a dozen of literati from the Later Han 後漢 (25-220) to the Southern Dynasties 南朝 (420~589) period. It was written by Liu Yiqing 劉義慶 (403-444), courtesy name Jibo 季伯, Prince of Linchuan 臨川 and member of the ruling family of the Liu-Song dynasty 劉宋 (420-479).

Liu Yiqing was Director of the Palace Library (bishujian 秘書監), Left Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat (shangshu zuo puye 尚書左僕射), Director of the Imperial Secretariat (zhongshu ling 中書令) and regional inspector (cishi 刺史) of Jingzhou 荊州 and finally of Nanchongzhou 南充州. Despite his high position in the power structure of the empire, Liu Yiqing was known as a benevolent and amiable person who patronised numerous scholars and writers like Yuan Shu 袁淑 (408-453), Lu Zhan 陸展 (d. 454), He Changyu 何長瑜 (died c. 443) and Bao Zhao 鮑照 (c. 414-466). Liu Yiqing also wrote the Xuzhou xianxian zhuanzan 徐州先賢傳贊 "Biographies and praise to the former worthies of the province of Xuzhou", a book called Dianxu 典叙 "Statutory introductions", and two collections of fantastic stories called Youminglu 幽明錄 and Xuanyanji 宣驗記. His collected writings, Linchuan wang Yiqing ji 臨川王義慶集, are lost.

The Former Han-period scholar Liu Xiang 劉向 (77-6 BCE) once wrote a book titled Shishuo 世說, which is now lost. The words xinyu 新語 "new speeches" were therefore added to Liu Yiqing's book by later scholars in order to distinguish the two texts. The Shishuo xinyu originally was 8 juan long, and, together with Liu Xiaobiao's 劉孝標 (462-521) commentary, 10 juan. The book was revised by Tang-period 唐 (618-907) scholars and is not preserved in its original shape. The received version is arranged in 3 juan and 36 chapters, under which the stories are grouped. This is the result of a rearrangement by the Song-period 宋 (960-1279) scholar Yan Shu 晏殊 (991-1055).

The discussions of the protagonists mainly centre around persons and their human qualities, but also touch on mystical matters of cosmology as relied on by the "School of the Mystery" (xuanxue 玄學). What the Shishuo xinyu is most famous for is the style of the discussions, which are not philosophical treatises but relaxed and quick-witted conversations, the so-called qingtan 清談 "pure conversations". Although the personalities are all historical, their conversations must be seen as fiction, partly with philosophical content, but some stories also have a touch of fantasy.

Liu Yiqing included his own views towards the particular persons in the stories and conversations. Persons from the end of the Later Han period 後漢 (25-220) are generally highly regarded by him, whereas his stance towards the Cao-Wei 曹魏 (220-265) and Jin-period 晉 (265-420) scholars like Yue Guang 樂廣 (d. 304), Ruan Ji 阮籍 (210-263), Wang Yan 王衍 (256-311), or Huan Xuan 桓玄 (369-404), is ambivalent. The characters of persons are often vividly described, like Zu Yue 祖約 (d. 330) and Ruan Fu 阮孚 (c. 278-c. 326).

The conversational sections are sometimes written in verse and sometimes in colloquial language, making them not easy to understand, such as the southern dialect word qing 渹, meaning "cold". In addition to philosophical or moral themes, the text contains a lot of information about politics, literature, and culture of the period.

The Shishuo xinyu is traditionally classified as a collection of novellas (xiaoshuo 小說) rather than a type of history. However, it can offer an impression of the lives and thoughts of the upper social class during the Southern Dynasties period.

Contemporary scholars of Liu Yiqin continued compiling books in the style of the Shishuo xinyu - the "Tales of the World-Style" (shishuo ti 世說體), among which the most significant are Pei Qi's 裴啟 Yulin 語林 "The forest of speeches" and Guo Chengzhi's 郭澄之 Guozi 郭子 "Master Guo". Both works have been lost, as has Wang Fangqing's 王方慶 (d. 702) Xu shitan xinshu 續世談新書 from the Tang period.

Later imitations of the Shishuo are Wang Dang's 王儻 Tangyulin 唐語林 and Kong Pingzhong's 孔平仲 (1044-1111) Xu shishuo 續世說 from the Song period, He Liangjun's 何良俊 (1506-1573) Heshi yulin 何氏語林 and Li Shaowen's 李紹文 Ming shishuo xinyu 明世說新語 (Ming shishuo 明世說), and Gong Weiliao's 宮偉鏐 (1611-1680) Tingwenzhou shishuo 庭聞州世說 (Zhou shishuo 州世說) from the Ming period 明 (1368-1644), and Wang Zhuo's 王晫 (1636-1705) Jin shishuo 今世說, Li Qing's 李清 (1591-1672) Nü shishuo 女世說 and Zhang Fugong's 章撫功 Han shishuo 漢世說 from the Qing period 清 (1644-1911). The modern writer Yi Zongkui 易宗夔 (1874-1925) has written the Xin shihuo 新世說. Many stories recorded in the Shishuo were even transformed into novellas or theatre plays, like Zhou Chu chu san hai 周處除三害, Mi Heng ji gu ma Cao 禰衡擊鼓罵曹 or Wang mei zhi ke 望梅止渴.

Liu Xiaobiao, the commentator on the Shishuo, was also a member of the imperial family of the Song. In his commentary on the Shishuo xinyu, he used text-critical methods similar to Pei Songzhi 裴松之 (379-449) in his commentary on the official dynastic history Sanguozhi 三國志, adding missing parts and correcting errors. For his work, Liu Xiaobiao utilised more than 400 sources. The quality of his commentary is so valuable that it became an integral part of the Shishuo xinyu. Later commentaries were written by Yu Jiaxi 余嘉錫 (1884-1955; Shishuo xinyu jianshu 世說新語箋疏), Xu Zhen'e 徐震諤 (Shishuo xinyu jiaojian 世說新語校箋), and Yang Yong 楊勇 (same title).

The oldest surviving print dates from the Song period (960-1279) and was produced by Dong An 董葊. It has been preserved in the Library of Kanazawa 金沢文庫 in Japan and was reprinted as a facsimile in 1955 by the Beijing Wenxue Guji Kanxing She 北京文學古籍刊行社. In Japan, some fragments from a Tang-period manuscript have survived.

The Shuishuo xinyu is included in the series Sibu congkan 四部叢刊, which reproduces the Ming-period print from the Jiaqu Hall 嘉趣堂, as well as in the series Xiyinxuan congshu 惜陰軒叢書, Longxi jingshe congshu 龍溪精舍叢書, Sibu beiyao 四部備要, Zhuzi jicheng 諸子集成 and Siku quanshu 四庫全書.

The Shishuo has been translated into many languages, from Japanese and English to French. The most convenient version is that of Richard B. Mather. 1976. Shih-shuo hsin-yü: A New Account of Tales of the World. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Tang shishuo xinyu 唐世說新語

See Da-Tang xinyu 大唐新語.

Xu shishuo 續世說

Xu shishuo 續世說 "Continued tales of the world", full title Xu shishuo xinyu 續世說新語, also called Nanbeishi xu shishuo 南北史續世說 "Continued tales of the world from the Southern and Northern Dynasties period", is a collection of stories about scholars of the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (300~600), probably written during the Song period 宋 (960-1279) by Li Hou 李垕 (d. 1179), courtesy name Zhongxin 仲信. However, many bibliographies attributed the book's authorship to Kong Pingzhong 孔平仲 (1044-1111), courtesy name Yifu 毅父. The 10-juan-long book is introduced by a preface written by Yu Anqi 俞安期 (fl. 1603), who says that he owned a manuscript version of the text.

The Xu shishuo is not mentioned in Tang- 唐 (618-907) and Song-period 宋 (960-1279) bibliographies, but the oldest surviving copy dates from the Song. The catalogue Sunshi citing shumu 孫氏祠堂書目 corroborates the Song period as the time of compilation. Li Hou was likely a son of the Southern Song-period 南宋 (1127-1279) historian Li Tao 李燾 (1115-1184) and thus had access to semi-historiographical sources. Wang Yinglin 王應麟 (1223-1296) says in his book Kunxue jiwen 困學紀聞 that the Xu shishuo includes stories that are not to be found in the official histories of that period, nor in the famous history Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑒.

The book is written in the same style as Liu Yiqing's 劉義慶 (403-444) Shishuo xinyu 世說新語 from the Liu-Song period 劉宋 (420-479), but the author added some further categories of scholars, namely Boqia 博洽 "Knowledgeable", Jiejie 介潔 "Distinct and clean", Bingce 兵策 "Military strategies", Xiaoyong 驍勇 "Bravery", Youxi 游戲 "Pastimes", Shijiao 釋教 "Buddhist teachings", Yanyan 言驗 "Effectful speaking", Zhiguai 志怪 "Records of strange things", Gandong 感動 "Easily affected", Chinong 癡弄 "Silly and tricky" and Xiongbei 兇悖 "Violent and perverse".

Ming shishuo 明世說

The Ming shishuo xinyu 明世說新語 (also called Ming shishuo 明世說, Huangchao shishuo xinyu 皇朝世說新語 or Huang-Ming shishuo xinyu 皇明世說新語) "Tales of the world from the Ming period" is a literary collection of speeches and discourses compiled during the late Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Li Shaowen 李紹文 (c. 1600), courtesy name Jiezhi 節之. The 8-juan-long book imitates the style of Liu Yiqing's 劉義慶 (403-444) famous Shishuo xinyu 世說新語 from the Liu-Song period 劉宋 (420-479) and is considered a kind of sequel to the latter, with Ming-period persons as the discussants. Apart from the Ming shishuo, Li Shaowen also wrote the collection Yilin leibai 藝林累百.

The chapter arrangement of Li Shaowen's book, with 36 themes, follows Liu Yiqing's model. The preface contains a section titled Shiming 釋名, which carefully lists the expressions in the book that differ from those found in contemporary literary collections and other works of commentary. For example, in the chapter Zhengmen 方正, there is an entry on Wen Zhengming's 文徵明 (1470-1559) discussion of ancestral friendship, and in the Pinzao 品藻 chapter, there is an story on Wang Ji's 王畿 (1498-1583) remarks about greed and anger. The Shiming also gives detailed listings of various individuals' names, posthumous titles, official ranks, and places of origin; however, it contains quite a number of errors. Lu Congping's 陸從平 (1535-1609) preface dates from 1609.

The text is found in the series Zhengtang dushu ji 鄭堂讀書記.

Jin shishuo 今世說

Jin shishuo 今世說 "Modern tales of the world" is a literary collection of speeches and discourses compiled during the early Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Wang Zhuo 王晫 (1636-1705), actual name Wang Fei 王棐, courtesy name Danlu 丹麓, style Mu'an 木庵 or Songxizi 松溪子. He hailed from Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang and was an ardent collector of ancient books. He has compiled the books Suishengji 逐生集, Xiajutang ji 霞舉堂集, Zashu shizhong 雜書十種 and Qiangdongcaotang ci 墻東草堂詞.

His 8-juan-long Jin shishuo is an imitation of Liu Yiqing's 劉義慶 (403-444) famous Shishuo xinyu 世說新語 from the Liu-Song period 劉宋 (420-479), and accordingly narrates the speeches of scholars and literati living during the late Ming 明 (1368-1644) and early Qing periods. The chapters follow the pattern of the Shishuo xinyu. At the end of each story, Wang Zhuo provides some information about the persons involved in the discourses. The language is lucid and very clear and was therefore highly recommended by the 20th-century writer Lu Xun 魯迅 (1881-1936). The only difference to the Shishuo xinyu is that Wang Zhuo himself takes also part in the discourses as an active person.

The Jin shishuo is included in the series Yueyatang congshu 粵雅堂叢書, Qingdai biji congkan 清代筆記叢刊, Biji xiaoshuo daguan 筆記小説大觀 and Congshu jicheng 叢書集成. It was published in a modern edition in 1957 by the Gudian Wenxue Press 古典文學出版社.

Han shishuo 漢世說

Han shishuo 漢世說 "Tales of the world from the Han period" a literary collection of speeches and discourses compiled during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Zhang Fugong 章撫功, courtesy name Renyan 仁艷. The 14-juan-long book imitates the style of Liu Yiqing's 劉義慶 (403-444) famous Shishuo xinyu 世說新語 from the Liu-Song period 劉宋 (420-479) and is thought as a kind of pre-cursor or prequel to the latter, with Han-period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) persons as the discussants.

Zhang Fugong based his discourses on records in the histories Shiji and Hanshu. The chapter titles are largely identical to those of the Shishuo xinyu. The literary value of the Han shishuo, compared to the great Shishuo, is not very high. It is included in the series Siku quanshu cunmu congshu 四庫全書存目叢書.

Shishuo xinyu bu 世說新語補

Shishuo xinyu bu 世說新語補 is a supplement to the famous ancient book Shishuo xinyu 世說新語 that had been written by the Liu-Song period 劉宋 (420-479) scholar Liu Yiqing 劉義慶 (403-444). The 20-juan-long supplement was allegedly written during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by the collector and publisher Wang Shizhen 王世貞 (1526-1590). However, it must be assumed that the Shishuo xinyu bu is is, in fact, an abbreviated version of He Liangjun's 何良俊 (1506-1573) book Heshi yulin 何氏語林, in which the publishers misused the name of Wang Shizhen to yield better sales numbers.

Nü shishuo 女世說

Nü shishuo 女世說, meaning "Tales of the world of women," is the name of two literary collections of speeches and discourses.

The first and more important one was compiled during the early Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Li Qing 李清 (1591-1672), courtesy name Yingbi 映碧 or Shuixin 水心, style Tiayi Jushi 天一居士. The four-juan-long book mimics the style of Liu Yiqing's 劉義慶 (403-444) renowned Shishuo xinyu from the Liu-Song period 劉宋 (420-479).

The ancient Shishuo included several stories about women, particularly in the chapter Xianyuan 賢媛. Li Qing expanded these sections, collecting solely stories about females and their discussions. The timeframe spans from the Spring and Autumn period 春秋 (770-5th cent. BCE) to the end of the Yuan era 元 (1279-1368), featuring notable figures such as Xi Shi 西施 (trad. 503-473), Li Qingzhao 李清照 (1084-1155), and Zhao Feiyan 趙飛燕 (32-1 BCE), with a focus on the strengths of "women of talent" (cainü 才女) such as the poetess Xie Daoyun 謝道韞 (d. 409 CE) and the historian Ban Zhao 班昭 (c. 49-c. 120 CE), as well as imperial consorts or swordwomen (xianü 俠女), like Liang Hongyu 梁紅玉 (1102-1135), who fought against the Jurchens.

The oldest surviving edition of the book was published by the Jingyizhai Studio 經義齋 in 1825, in a "case-sized" format (jinxiangben 巾箱本), with one additional supplementary fascicle appended (Buyi 補遺).

Another book titled Nü shishuo was written by Ms Yan Heng 嚴蘅 (1825-1854), courtesy name Ruiqing 瑞卿. She was married to Chen Yuanlu 陳元祿 and was renowned for her fine poetry. Her Nü shishuo remained unfinished when it was first printed in 1865. A further fragment of her writings is Nenxiang'an cangao 嫩想盦殘稿. Both of her works are housed in the series Juanjinglou congke 娟鏡樓叢刻, edited in 1920 by Zhang Zulian 張祖廉.